China hails Xi amid celebrations for official end of extreme poverty

The ruling Communist Party is celebrating the official end of extreme poverty in China with a propaganda campaign that praises President Xi Jinping's role.

It is part of efforts to cement his image as a history-making leader who is reclaiming his country's rightful place as a global power.

The propaganda apparatus has been linking national successes to Mr Xi, including fighting coronavirus, China's rise as a technology creator and December's successful lunar mission to bring back rocks from the moon.

The party announced in

November, with little fanfare, that China no longer had anyone in extreme poverty. That was down from an official estimateofalmost99millionliving on annual incomes of less than 2,300 yuan (£250) per person a decade ago.

The full-scale propaganda campaign launched this month has filled state-controlled newspapers and airwaves with reports on the antipoverty milestone and Mr Xi's personal role. They credit him with launching an initiative shortly after taking power in 2012 that enabled China to beat by a decade the 2030 target set bytheworldbankforeliminating extreme poverty.

A report by the party's People'sdailynewspaperthisweek on the "historic leap" refers to Mr Xi by his full name and title as party leader 121 times.

"General Secretary Xi Jinping hasstoodatthestrategicheight of building a well-off society in anall-aroundwayandrealising the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," the newspaper said.

Theeventgivestherulingpartyapoliticaltrophyaheadofthis year's celebration of the 100th anniversaryofits1921founding. It comes at a time when China's economy is growing again following coronavirus while the US, Europe and other areas are still struggling with outbreaks.

The party said it reached the milestonedespitehavingtotake theunprecedentedstepofshuttingdownmostofchina'seconomy in early 2020 to fight coronavirus.

Onthursday,mrxicitedantipoverty work as a sign of the effectiveness of the ruling party's system.

"We have finished the arduoustaskoferadicatingabsolute poverty and created a miracle that shall go down in history," he said at a ceremony honouring people who worked on the initiative.

The poverty milestone gives Mr Xi ammunition to shore up power that some foreign analysts suggested was eroded by the coronavirus outbreak that began in Wuhan in late 2019.China's official definition ofextremepovertyisanincome per person of 11 yuan (£1.20) per day. That is lower than the

World Bank's standard of £1.30, but the National Bureau of Statisticssaysthatduetodifferences in rural living costs, the Chinesestandardisslightlyhigher.

In some areas, low-income ethnic minority communities have been moved out of remote valleys into newly built towns. In others, officials went door to door signing up poor families for job training, grants to start businesses and other aid.

Nearly 10 million people moved into new homes and those of 27 million more have been renovated, according to Mr Xi.

He said the government has spent a total of 1.6 trillion yuan (£175 billion).